


One Hell of a Family

by skywalkersamidala



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, Multi, One Shot, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, you will need a trip to the dentist after this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26016061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkersamidala/pseuds/skywalkersamidala
Summary: Valentine's Day is always busy for Lorenzo and his partners and his partners' partners, but this year things take an unexpected turn.
Relationships: Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Clarice Orsini, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Clarice Orsini/Lucrezia Donati, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Francesco de' Pazzi, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Lucrezia Donati, Lucrezia Donati/Clarice Orsini, Novella Foscari/Francesco de' Pazzi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	One Hell of a Family

**Author's Note:**

> The other day on tumblr I was joking about Lucrezia/Clarice/Lorenzo/Francesco/Novella ot5 being the True Happy Ending scenario, but then I was like “wait a minute, I actually do want to write a proper fic of that.” So I did!
> 
> This will become clear as you’re reading but I’ll quickly mention that they’re not ALL in relationships with each other, the breakdown is: Lorenzo/Clarice and Francesco/Novella are married, Lorenzo and Clarice are both in a relationship with Lucrezia, and Lorenzo is also in a relationship with Francesco. Of these, I imagine Lucrezia/Clarice and Lorenzo/Francesco are the newer relationships that probably didn’t happen until after both married couples were married (Lorenzo had already been dating Lucrezia before starting to date Clarice so the three of them had an arrangement the whole time, but Clarice and Lucrezia didn’t get together themselves until later. And Lorenzo and Francesco had been bffs most of their lives, but I imagine it took Novella bonking Francesco over the head like “hey idiot you’re in love with Lorenzo” for them to actually get out of the Repressed Feelings stage kdjfgh none of this matters but I had this vague backstory in my head so I figured I might as well share it!)
> 
> Anyway this is the most relationships I’ve ever tried to write in one fic before so it was a fun challenge for me haha I hope you enjoy this!

Clarice sat up and stretched, wincing at the ache in her back. She glanced around and saw no sign of Lorenzo, but when she checked the time, she saw it was still too early for him to have already left for the bank. “Lorenzo?” she called.

Within two seconds, he was opening the bedroom door. “Everything okay? What do you need?” he asked.

“Nothing, I was just wondering if you were home,” she said through a yawn, reaching up to rub her tired eyes.

Lorenzo clearly noticed. “Didn’t sleep well, huh?”

“Horribly. Your son was kicking me all night.”

Lorenzo chuckled in sympathy. “Well, he’ll be out of you any day now,” he said.

“Yes, and then he’ll just keep us _both_ up all night,” Clarice pointed out, but she was smiling.

Then immediately yawning again. Deciding she needed a nice hot cup of tea, she started to throw off the covers and get out of bed, but Lorenzo hurried over and gently pushed her back into it. “No, no, you stay right there,” he said. “Just for one more minute.”

“Why?”

“One minute,” Lorenzo promised, and he left the room.

True to his word, he returned before Clarice had even had much time to wonder what he was up to. She smiled as she saw that he was carrying a tray piled high with fruit, breakfast pastries, a vase of flowers—and a nice hot cup of tea. “You didn’t have to get up early to do this for me, you’re the one who has to work today,” she scolded him.

“And _you’re_ the one who’s got an entire second human inside you, so I figured getting you breakfast is the least I could do,” Lorenzo said. He set the tray down on her lap (basically her knees, as the rest of her lap space was occupied by her nine-month baby bump) and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you.”

Clarice turned her head slightly to kiss him on the lips. “I love you too,” she said. “And I can’t possibly eat all this, so you’d better help.”

“Gladly,” Lorenzo said with a laugh, and he joined her in bed and took a croissant off the tray as Clarice picked up her tea. “How’s the tea?”

She took a sip and savored the warmth that spread through her, feeling refreshed already. “Just the way I like it,” she said. “Thank you.”

They chatted about nothing in particular as they ate and then exchanged cards; the two of them had agreed on no gifts this year since they knew they’d have so many other things to worry about so close to the baby’s due date. (Lorenzo had declared that the baby was the best gift he could wish for this Valentine’s Day anyway, while Clarice had joked that what little shopping energy he had left after weeks of buying baby supplies would be better used for Lucrezia and Francesco, both of whom valued material goods much more than she did.)

All too soon it was time for Lorenzo to get ready for work. Clarice changed from her pajamas into different pajamas and shuffled out into the living room to flop down on the couch. “Take it easy today, all right?” Lorenzo said as he came out of their bedroom a few minutes later dressed in his work clothes. “I’ll bring you lunch, and don’t worry about doing anything for dinner, I’m picking up everything we need after work.”

For the first eight months Clarice had protested that she was only pregnant, not dying, but at this point she _did_ feel like she would die if she had to move too far off this couch. So she was happy enough to promise that she’d take it easy. “Have a good day,” she said next.

Lorenzo came over to kiss her goodbye, then crouched down to kiss her stomach. “You’d better be good to Mamma today,” he told the baby. “She’s putting up with a whole lot for you, you know.”

Clarice laughed and covered Lorenzo’s hand where it rested on her stomach, lacing her fingers through his and smiling when they felt the baby kick, like he was trying to join the conversation. “It’ll all be worth it once he’s finally here,” she said.

“Yeah,” Lorenzo said, gazing adoringly up at her. “I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

* * *

Lucrezia Donati walked into the Medici bank with several tote bags in hand, greeting the occasional familiar employee she passed on her way to Lorenzo’s office. “Is he in a meeting?” she asked his assistant.

“Nope, you can go right in.”

“Thanks.”

Lucrezia knocked on the door and entered at Lorenzo’s permission. “Hey, you,” she said as he looked up and smiled when he saw that it was her.

“Oh, good, I was afraid you were Nori coming to give me responsibilities,” he said, getting up from his desk.

Lucrezia shut the door behind her. “Just one responsibility,” she said.

“And what’s that?”

“Kissing me.”

Lorenzo laughed and obediently pulled her in for a kiss. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said.

“Same to you,” Lucrezia replied. “I brought all the stuff.”

“Fantastic. She’s going to love it.”

“And there’s something for you too.”

She took a small wrapped gift out of one of the tote bags and handed it to him. Lorenzo eagerly unwrapped it and pulled out a leather-bound book, and he gasped when he flipped it open and saw the publication date. “A nineteenth-century copy of the _Ars Amatoria_!” he said, beaming. “How did you get your hands on this?”

“I found it by chance in a used bookstore a few weeks ago and thought you’d like it,” Lucrezia said. “Since you love owning a dozen copies of books you’ve already read.”

“You know me so well,” Lorenzo said, grinning. “I love it. Thank you. Now let me get your gift.”

He pulled a similarly-sized package out of his desk drawer, and Lucrezia opened it to discover another book inside. But this one was a journal full of pages covered in Lorenzo’s handwriting. “Poems for L.D.,” she read off the cover page, smiling. “You managed to fill up an entire journal?”

“I guess I have a lot to say about you,” Lorenzo joked.

Lucrezia was quiet for a moment as she read the first poem, her smile widening. Lorenzo had been writing poetry for her since they were sixteen, but it never got any less thrilling. “This is beautiful, Lorenzo. Thank you,” she said. “I can’t wait to read the rest of them.”

“I hope you like them,” he said. “Though no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the words to _fully_ do justice to how much I love you.”

Lucrezia kissed him again. “I love you too.”

Once they’d gone through the bags to make sure they had everything they needed, they headed out, stopping at their favorite pizza place on their way to Lorenzo and Clarice’s house. Clarice was on the couch when they went inside. “Exactly where I left you,” Lorenzo said fondly.

“In my defense, I _have_ gotten up for about seventeen bathroom breaks since then,” Clarice said. “Lucrezia, I wasn’t expecting to see you until tonight!”

“As if I could wait that long.” Lucrezia set her bags down and crossed the room to sit beside Clarice and kiss her. “Happy Valentine’s Day, love. How are you?”

“Exhausted, but happy to see you both,” Clarice said. “And those pizza boxes.”

The other two laughed, and they all sat down at the table together for a leisurely lunch. “I’ve got time before I have to be back at the bank, so we have a little surprise for you, Clarice,” Lorenzo said.

“What kind of surprise?”

“A home spa day,” Lucrezia said.

Clarice’s face lit up. “A home spa day?”

Lorenzo was bringing the tote bags over from where they’d left them by the door, and he started listing their contents with Lucrezia chiming in. “We’ve got candles, bath bombs—”

“—face masks, lotion—”

“—and a whole lot of other stuff, because we went overboard while brainstorming and decided to just get everything,” Lorenzo finished. “Also chocolate.”

Clarice was beaming at them, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “Oh no, don’t get all sappy and emotional on us,” Lucrezia teased.

“Sorry, sorry, you know everything makes me cry these days,” Clarice said, laughing a little as she wiped her eyes. “I just can’t believe you did all this for me. Lorenzo, I thought we agreed no gifts this year.”

“We did. This is Lucrezia’s gift,” he said. “I’m just lending a hand.”

“Yeah, and taking the credit for _my_ gift,” Lucrezia said.

“I just _told_ her it’s your gift.”

Clarice laughed again. “Thank you for the gift, Lucrezia, and Lorenzo for lending a hand. I love you both so much.”

“We love you too.”

They went into the bedroom and dumped all the spa products out on the bed to survey them. “Massages first?” Lucrezia suggested. “And then you can have a relaxing bath after?”

“That sounds amazing,” Clarice said.

“Let’s see, we’ll need…this,” Lorenzo said, rifling through the pile to pick up a little device that vibrated when he turned it on.

Clarice raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t know it was _that_ kind of massage.”

“It is not! This is just a handheld back massager,” Lorenzo protested as Lucrezia started cracking up. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“We’ve corrupted her,” Lucrezia said proudly.

“I mostly blame you,” Lorenzo said. “Anyway, it _could_ be that kind of massage if you’re in the mood for it.”

“No, I don’t think I’m feeling up to it today,” Clarice said, also grinning. “We’ll save that for another time.”

So instead the other two just gave her regular massages, and by the time that was done, Lorenzo had to get back to the bank. “I’m taking the afternoon off, though, so you and I can keep going,” Lucrezia told Clarice.

Clarice looked relieved. “Good, because I was really looking forward to that bath, but I can’t take baths when I’m home alone in case I slip and fall,” she said. “Also, I can’t even get out of the tub on my own anymore.”

Lucrezia snickered a little and promised to help her, and Lorenzo kissed them both goodbye. “You two have fun,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“You have a meeting with Francesco this afternoon, right?” Clarice said. “Are you finally going to ask him?”

“You still haven’t asked him?” Lucrezia said incredulously. “You asked me a week ago!”

“Yes, but Francesco and I haven’t had the chance to see each other in person at all this week,” Lorenzo said. “Apparently our banks and our other partners are very high-maintenance and keep us busy.”

“You’re the most high-maintenance partner in this room, by _far,”_ Lucrezia said, and Clarice laughed in agreement.

After Lorenzo had left, Lucrezia drew the bath and lit several lavender-scented candles, then helped Clarice into the tub and passed her a face mask. Clarice heaved a contented sigh as she got settled in the water. “This is exactly what I needed today,” she said.

“I’m glad,” Lucrezia replied. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, I don’t want to interrupt your relaxation time.”

She started to head for the door, but Clarice said, “No, stay. Nothing relaxes me more than being with you.” So Lucrezia smiled and sat down on the floor next to the tub instead, stretching her legs out and resting her back against the wall.

They chatted quietly about mundane things for a while, until Clarice suddenly winced and put a hand to her abdomen. “Are you okay?” Lucrezia said anxiously, sitting up straighter. “What happened?”

“I’m fine, it was just a little cramp,” Clarice said, waving it off. “Gone now.”

“Are you sure? You know the baby’s coming any day now, what if it’s labor starting?”

“It’s not labor, honestly, it was just a cramp,” Clarice insisted. “You worry too much.”

“Well, _someone_ has to,” Lucrezia said. “And usually Lorenzo and I can count on _you_ to be the worrier, but apparently not when it comes to your own wellbeing.”

She continued to watch Clarice suspiciously for the rest of the bath, but she did seem fine, so Lucrezia decided to trust her word. Once she was dry and had been massaged with lotion, Clarice put on her pajamas and curled up in bed for a nap. “Did you really take the afternoon off just to spend time with me?” she asked as Lucrezia lay down next to her.

“Of course,” Lucrezia said. “I know you’ve been going stir-crazy since your maternity leave started, and I wanted to keep you company. Besides, this might be my last chance to have you all to myself before this little guy’s hogging all your attention.”

She rested her hand on Clarice’s stomach, and Clarice laughed. “Wait, I almost forgot,” Clarice said a moment later. “I have a present for you too.”

She started to sit up, but Lucrezia quickly said, “You stay there, just tell me where it is.”

“Top shelf of the closet.”

Lucrezia retrieved the giftbag and sat back down on the bed to open it. “Oh, Clarice, they’re beautiful,” she said as she pulled out a pair of pearl drop earrings. They were in a sleek modern style as opposed to the kinds of pearls Lucrezia’s grandmother would wear, but still had a certain classic elegance about them. “Thank you. You always have such good taste in jewelry.”

“Well, I was only picking out something I thought you’d like, so really it’s you who has good taste,” Clarice said modestly.

“At any rate, the quality of jewelry I receive as gifts has improved significantly since I got a second partner who’s a woman,” Lucrezia said. “Lorenzo’s just terrible at picking it out, bless him.”

“Aw, he does try so hard, though,” Clarice said, but she was laughing too.

Lucrezia decided to wear the earrings for dinner tonight, but for now she put them back in the box and pulled Clarice close again, pressing against her back and draping her arm over her. “I’m sorry we’re having such a boring Valentine’s Day,” Clarice said. “Napping probably isn’t how you would’ve wanted to spend it.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t even remember the last time I had the chance to nap in the middle of the day,” Lucrezia said. “This is absolutely fantastic.”

Clarice snuggled further into her. “I love you.”

Lucrezia pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I love you too.”

* * *

Francesco’s assistant poked her head into his office. “Lorenzo de’ Medici is here,” she said.

Francesco’s heart leapt, but he did his best to maintain a neutral expression. “Send him in, please, I’m ready for him.”

Lorenzo was entering a moment later, and now Francesco did let his smile break out. “Hi,” he said as he got up from his desk to greet him.

“Hey,” Lorenzo said, smiling back and shutting the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“It’s a ridiculous holiday, but happy Valentine’s Day to you too, I guess,” Francesco replied.

“Wow, _so_ romantic. Does Novella get that attitude too?”

“Absolutely, and she appreciates it because she hates Valentine’s Day even more than I do.”

Laughing, Lorenzo slid his arms around him and kissed him. Francesco kissed him back, closing his eyes and leaning into the embrace. After a minute, Lorenzo let go of him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, and Francesco sat in the chair next to him rather than returning behind his desk.

“How’s Clarice?” he asked.

“Tired and gigantic. Don’t tell her I said that, because I know she’d take it as an insult even though I really do mean it when I say she looks so beautiful right now,” Lorenzo said, and Francesco chuckled. Then Lorenzo’s expression grew more serious. “How…how have you guys been doing? Any luck yet?”

Francesco’s smile faded, and he shook his head. “No. Still,” he said quietly. “Maybe it’s just not going to happen.”

Lorenzo reached out and took his hand. “Don’t talk like that. It’ll happen,” he said gently, running his thumb over Francesco’s knuckles. “It takes time, that’s all. You can’t rush it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Francesco said, bitterness seeping into his tone. “You got pregnant after trying for, like, two months, and it’s been a whole year for us.” Lorenzo was quiet and just nodded to concede the point, and Francesco sighed. “I’m sorry. Your son is about to be born, and here I am throwing a pity party about my problems. I don’t want to spoil your happiness.”

“You could never do that,” Lorenzo said, squeezing his hand. “Your problems are my problems, and you can talk to me about them anytime you want. And my happiness means nothing to me if you don’t share it.” He paused, looking excited and nervous at the same time. “But speaking of you sharing my happiness…I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Francesco asked.

“Clarice and I are hoping that you would be the baby’s godfather,” Lorenzo said without preamble.

Francesco stared at him, stunned. “Me?” he said. “Are—are you sure?”

“Of course we’re sure,” Lorenzo said, sounding amused. “You’re my best friend and my boyfriend and I love you, and Clarice loves you too. There’s no one else we’d rather have as our son’s godfather.”

Francesco gazed down at their entwined hands, happy tears stinging his eyes. He didn’t doubt Lorenzo’s love for him, but he’d assumed he would pick Giuliano as the baby’s godfather. It hadn’t even occurred to Francesco that he himself might be an option. “What about Giuliano?” he asked. “Won’t he be mad that you picked me?”

“He already has his own role as the baby’s uncle, and he knows how important you are to me, so he’ll understand why I wanted to give this role to you,” Lorenzo said. “You have a special place in my life, Francesco, and I really want you to have a special place in my son’s life too. What do you say?”

“Yes,” Francesco said, looking back up at him and smiling so wide. “Of course I’ll be his godfather. I’d be honored.”

Lorenzo beamed at him. “Good,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Thank _you,”_ Francesco said, his heart still soaring.

Lorenzo gave him another peck on the lips, then declared, “Now that that’s settled, it’s time for gifts.”

“Oh, I _wonder_ what you got me,” Francesco said sarcastically as they both pulled out small velvet boxes and handed them to each other.

It had been Lorenzo’s idea. _We both have wedding rings for our wives, and Clarice, Lucrezia, and I have some as well, so I’d like you and I to have rings for each other too. Our relationship may not be a marriage, but it’s no less important and I want to do something to symbolize our commitment._ Francesco had sniffled ( _not_ cried, just _sniffled_ ), Lorenzo had teased him, and Francesco had said “shut up” and then “I love you” in the same breath.

Lorenzo had decided it would be romantic for them to exchange the rings on Valentine’s Day, which Francesco had found unnecessarily sappy but he’d gone along with it because he’d long since learned how useless it was to try to talk Lorenzo out of something. (And maybe he did sometimes like to indulge Lorenzo’s love of sappiness. Not that he’d ever admit it.)

Despite his prior comment, he _was_ curious to see what Lorenzo had picked out for him; they’d decided to each secretly pick out a ring they thought the other would like as a surprise rather than selecting matching ones together. Francesco had chosen a silver one set with blue topaz that had reminded him of Lorenzo’s eyes, and as he opened his own box, he took out a beautiful gold and onyx ring.

“Francesco, this is beautiful!” Lorenzo was exclaiming about his own ring.

“You like it?” Francesco said, relieved. He considered himself something of a ring connoisseur, but Lorenzo didn’t wear many so Francesco hadn’t been sure what his taste was.

“It’s _perfect._ Thank you,” Lorenzo said, smiling at him. “What do you think of yours? I tried to pick out something that didn’t look like one you already have, but you just have so _many_ rings.”

Francesco chuckled and looked back down at his ring. “You did great. Very unique,” he assured him. “I love it.”

“Good.” Lorenzo held his ring out to him. “Will you put it on for me?”

Francesco took it and slid it onto the ring finger of his right hand, and Lorenzo did the same for him. “There,” Lorenzo said, twining their fingers together as they both admired their new rings. “Perfect.”

“I love you,” Francesco said.

“I love you too,” Lorenzo replied, leaning in to kiss him.

Francesco allowed it for a couple minutes before saying, “Okay, my calendar doesn’t say ‘kiss Lorenzo for an hour’ right now, so we really do have to focus and talk about that loan.” 

Lorenzo groaned. “You are _so_ boring.”

* * *

Novella hummed cheerfully to herself as she rang Lorenzo and Clarice’s doorbell. Lucrezia answered the door and hugged her in greeting and led her into the living room, where Clarice was sitting.

“No, no, don’t get up,” Novella said quickly as Clarice started to stand to greet her. Novella went over to her instead and gave her a hug. “You look like you’re ready to pop. In a good way.”

“I feel like it,” Clarice said ruefully. “It’s so good to see you, Novella, I haven’t seen you since the baby shower, have I?”

“No, but to be fair, you’ve had a lot going on lately,” Novella said with a laugh. “Are the boys not here yet?”

“Of course not, God forbid they ever get to leave their banks when they’re supposed to,” Lucrezia said, shaking her head. “Lorenzo’s on the way, though, finally, he just texted.”

Novella pulled out her own phone to ask Francesco for his ETA. _Half hour, sorry,_ he replied. _Board meeting’s running late. Fucking Salviati won’t shut up._

Novella snickered and reported back to the other two, and they lounged around chatting and catching up while they waited for Lorenzo and Francesco. “What’s new with you, Novella?” Lucrezia asked.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Novella’s mouth. “Nothing much,” she said.

“What’s that little smile about, then?” Lucrezia said, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, spill it!”

“It’s nothing!” Novella insisted. “I was just thinking about something funny that happened at work today. I had to practically tackle some kid trying to touch the _David._ It was the most heroic moment of my life. People applauded.”

“Liar.”

“No, it’s true. Ask any of the hundred witnesses.”

“I mean, you’re lying that that’s why you’re smiling,” Lucrezia said.

But Clarice mercifully intervened to change the subject before Novella could be grilled any further. “Aside from kids trying to touch the _David,_ how’s work going?” she asked.

“Same old, same old,” Novella said. “I had to give an early access tour this morning before the museum opened—I like those because the hordes of tourists aren’t there yet so you can actually hear yourself think, but the downside is I had to leave long before Francesco even woke up, so I literally haven’t seen him yet today.” And she’d never been more impatient to do so.

“On Valentine’s Day, of all days!” Clarice exclaimed. “We won’t keep you guys too long tonight, I’m sure you’ll want to have a little time to yourselves and— _ow,_ shit—” She broke off and reached for her side, gasping a little. “Sorry, I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past couple hours. And on and off all week.”

“Those are the fake, practice ones, right?” Novella said.

“Yes, but are you _sure_ these are those?” Lucrezia asked Clarice. “They’re not supposed to be that painful, are they?”

“It’s not that painful.”

“That one seemed like it was, seeing as it made you swear for literally the first time in your life that I’ve ever heard,” Lucrezia said. “I don’t like this, it’s been happening for most of the afternoon and now seems like it’s getting more intense, we should take you to the hospital—”

“It just caught me by surprise, that’s all. I’m fine,” Clarice said. “Lorenzo and I rushed to the hospital last week thinking it was real labor and it wasn’t, and I felt like an idiot, so I’m not doing that again. I’ll know when it’s the real thing.”

The door opened before anyone could respond, and Lorenzo walked in. “Oh, good, Lorenzo will back me up,” Lucrezia said.

“What about?” Lorenzo asked, setting down his briefcase and coming over to join them.

Lucrezia filled him in on the situation, and his forehead creased with worry. “Going to the hospital for a false alarm is nothing to be embarrassed about, Clarice,” he said. “The doctor even told us it was better to be safe than sorry last week when we apologized for wasting her time.”

“For the hundredth time, I’m _fine,”_ Clarice said exasperatedly. “It’s _my_ body, can’t you two just trust that I know what I’m feeling?”

“All right, all right, sorry,” Lorenzo said. “Just let us know if anything changes, okay?”

“I will,” Clarice said. “Now let’s talk about something else. We’re supposed to be having a nice relaxing dinner, and Novella doesn’t want to hear about all this.”

“I really don’t mind,” Novella assured her. Her eyes fell upon a familiar-looking ring on Lorenzo’s finger, and she changed the subject for Clarice’s sake. “So you liked the ring, Lorenzo?”

Lorenzo followed her gaze and smiled. “Of course,” he said. “Did Francesco consult you about it?”

“Oh yeah, he was fretting about it for weeks, he was so afraid you wouldn’t like it. But I knew you would.”

Lorenzo laughed. “He’s cute, isn’t he?” he said fondly.

“Absolutely adorable,” Novella agreed just as fondly.

Lorenzo and Lucrezia went into the kitchen to start dinner, and since they insisted she was a guest and sent her back out to the living room, Novella stayed with Clarice and continued chatting until Francesco finally arrived. “Sorry I’m late,” he said.

Smiling, Novella got to her feet and crossed the room to throw her arms around him and kiss him hard. Francesco hummed in surprise at the enthusiastic greeting. “Hi,” he said with a startled smile when she pulled back.

“Hi. Sorry,” Novella said. “I just haven’t seen you all day, and I missed you.”

Her unusual sentimentality made Francesco look even more bemused. “Who are you and what have you done with my wife?”

“Don’t be like that, Francesco, she was being sweet,” Clarice chided him.

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I’m surprised.”

Novella laughed and returned to the couch, and Francesco popped into the kitchen to say hello to Lorenzo and Lucrezia before joining her. “Lorenzo promised me he was finally going to get around to asking you something today,” Clarice said cryptically. “Did he?”

Novella looked at Francesco, intrigued. “He did,” Francesco said with a smile. “And I told him I would be honored to be the baby’s godfather.”

Clarice beamed back at him. “I’m so glad to hear it.”

“Godfather!” Novella said, also smiling. “That’s wonderful, Francesco, congratulations. You guys couldn’t have picked anyone better, in my completely unbiased opinion.”

“Yes, in our completely unbiased opinions as well,” Clarice said, laughing.

Soon dinner was ready, and all five of them sat down together. “Let’s have a toast,” Lorenzo said, and they all raised their glasses of wine (water for Clarice). “To love, to friends, to family. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.”

“You guys are _so_ sappy, it’s embarrassing,” Novella said as they all clinked their glasses together, and Francesco nodded in emphatic agreement.

They were just taking their first bites of dinner when Clarice suddenly made a much louder noise of pain and gripped the edge of the table for support. She was unable to speak for a minute as everyone gasped and started fussing over her, but once she’d caught her breath, she said, “Okay. Okay, I think this _is_ real labor after all.”

“I’ve been fucking telling you that all day!” Lucrezia yelled.

* * *

Novella and Francesco had kept Clarice and the others company for several hours, but they’d had to beat a hasty retreat to the waiting room once the intensity of Clarice’s contractions had ramped up enough for her to yell that anyone who didn’t regularly have sex with her had better get out of there right now and stop looking at her (the outburst was so uncharacteristic that Novella would’ve laughed if she hadn’t felt so sorry for her).

The two of them were now sitting in some uncomfortable plastic chairs and reading magazines. Or rather, Novella was reading a magazine while Francesco fidgeted and chewed his lip. “You okay?” Novella asked, setting her magazine aside.

“Fine,” he said. “Kinda nervous, I guess.”

“I can see that,” Novella said. “Hey, why don’t we go have some shit cafeteria food? We never did get to have dinner.”

“What if something happens and we miss it?” Francesco asked.

“There’s still hours and hours to go, we’re not going to miss anything. Come on.”

Novella grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room with her and towards the cafeteria, where they both got rather soggy-looking salads. “This might just be the worst thing I’ve ever eaten,” Novella said.

Francesco took a bite of lettuce and made a face. “Ugh, same.”

They ate as much as they could stomach and then treated themselves to some cookies, which were much more appetizing. “I want to be there for Lorenzo right now,” Francesco admitted as they finished off the cookies. “But Clarice’s comfort is the most important thing, and I understand why she only wants her own partners in there with her.”

“Yeah,” Novella said. “I love you, but no way am I going to be letting Lorenzo in the delivery room with me for your sake. You’re the only person I’m willing to let see me at my absolute worst.”

Francesco froze, and Novella belatedly realized what she’d said. “What?” he said. “You…are you saying…?”

Novella started to laugh. “Well, a hospital cafeteria isn’t the place I’d envisioned for this conversation, but I guess it’ll have to do,” she said. “Yes, Francesco. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Francesco was smiling now too, tears gathering in his eyes. “Really?”

“Really,” Novella said, taking his hand where it rested on the table. “I missed my period a couple weeks ago, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to get our hopes up again for nothing. But then I puked my guts out at work this morning, so during my lunch break I went and got a pregnancy test. And it was positive.”

Francesco looked completely lost for words, his expression one of shock and joy, so much joy, even more than on their wedding day, and it was the most beautiful thing Novella had ever seen. Laughing and crying a little, she got up from her chair and went around to his side of the table to hug him tight, and Francesco hugged her back, also starting to laugh and cry.

“I can’t believe it,” he said, his voice wobbling and muffled in her shoulder. “I thought—I thought it would never happen for us.”

“So did I. But it did.” Novella pulled back a little so she could cup his face in her hands, memorizing every detail of his ecstatic expression and smiling so wide her face was starting to hurt. “It did.”

Francesco kissed her and kissed her and kissed her, and usually both of them hated PDA, but at the moment Novella literally couldn’t care less. (It wasn’t like there were that many people in a hospital cafeteria at two AM anyway.) Then Francesco placed a tender hand on her currently flat stomach, smiling down at it. “I love you,” he said. “I love you so much.”

Novella wasn’t actually sure if he was talking to her or the baby, but she covered his hand with her own and said, “I love you too.”

Once they’d finally collected themselves, they threw out their trash and walked back up to the maternity wing hand in hand. “Let’s not tell the others for a little while?” Novella said. “Obviously we won’t want to steal Clarice’s thunder when she’s just delivered a whole ass baby.”

“Right. Good call.”

“And I kind of like having a little secret just for the two of us.”

Francesco smiled and let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist instead, pulling her into his side and kissing the top of her head. “Me too,” he said.

* * *

Lorenzo had never been happier in his life. Not the day of his first kiss with Lucrezia, both sixteen with no idea what they were doing but not caring because they were just so damn happy, swept away by the feeling of first love. Not his and Clarice’s wedding day, with her radiant in her white dress walking down the aisle towards him as he’d wondered what he’d done to deserve this angel as his wife. Not the day he’d finally confessed to Francesco that he was in love with him, terrified he’d just ruined their longtime friendship until Francesco’s shocked expression had morphed into the broadest smile Lorenzo had ever seen from him.

But now even those happiest memories came in second compared to how he felt today. A close second, but still. This moment right now was indisputably the best one of his life.

“He looks like you,” he told Clarice, smiling down at the baby in his arms. He hadn’t stopped smiling since the moment he’d heard him take his first breath and start wailing his head off. He was calm now, though, squinting around and trying to make sense of this strange new world he’d been suddenly thrust into.

“You can’t possibly tell yet,” Clarice said.

“Well, he’s much too cute to take after Lorenzo,” Lucrezia said, making them all laugh.

Lorenzo leaned down to press a kiss to his son’s impossibly tiny nose. “Now, names,” he said. “Are we still thinking Piero?”

“Yes, it suits him,” Clarice said. “Lucrezia, what do you think?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.”

“Of course it does.”

Lucrezia smiled and ducked her head, uncharacteristically flustered. “Well, I like Piero too,” she said.

“Piero it is,” Lorenzo said. “Clarice, are you ready for visitors? I think Francesco and Novella are still here, and my family’s on their way.”

“Sure,” she said. “It would be better to squeeze them in now before this burst of energy fades and I completely pass out.”

“Okay, I’ll get them. Let’s go see Auntie Lulù,” Lorenzo said to Piero, passing him over. To Lucrezia, he added, “You’re sure you wouldn’t rather be Mamma? You know Clarice and I would have no problem with that.”

“I know. And I’m sure. Parenthood isn’t for me.” Lucrezia kissed Piero’s forehead. “But being Auntie Lulù is everything I could ever want. I’m going to be the cool godmother he wants to hang out with when he’s a teenager and you two embarrass him just by breathing.”

“Oh God, I can see it already,” Clarice said with another laugh.

Lorenzo gave all three of them a kiss before heading out to the waiting room. It was morning now, and Francesco and Novella were dozing in their chairs, so Lorenzo went over to wake them up.

“Lorenzo,” Francesco said, yawning and blinking at him in surprise. “Is he here?”

“He’s here,” Lorenzo confirmed, a smile breaking out across his face yet again. “He’s absolutely perfect, and happy and healthy. So is Clarice. They both want to see you guys.”

Francesco smiled too, and he got to his feet and pulled Lorenzo in for a hug. “Congratulations,” he said, kissing his cheek and letting go of him so Novella could hug him too.

Lorenzo brought them to Clarice’s room, and his heart felt like bursting from love and pride as Francesco and Novella gathered around Piero and exclaimed about how beautiful he was. Then they washed their hands, and Lorenzo took Piero from Lucrezia and brought him over to Francesco.

“Say hi to Uncle Cesco, sweetheart,” he cooed, putting him into Francesco’s arms. “Christ, Francesco, what are you doing? That’s not how you hold a baby.”

“I’ve literally never held a baby before, you’re the first people I know who’ve had one,” Francesco said defensively as Novella laughed at him.

Lorenzo helped him adjust his grip on Piero. “There,” he said, smiling at the sight of Francesco cradling his son against his chest. “You’d better get used to it, since there’ll be two babies you’ll be holding a lot in the immediate future.” Bianca and Guglielmo’s first child was due in just a few weeks.

(Lorenzo saw Francesco and Novella exchange a secretive smile at these words, but he was too sleep-deprived and emotionally overloaded to wonder about its meaning.)

Novella had her turn with Piero next. “Aww, look at you!” she said, bouncing him up and down. “Aren’t you the cutest!”

“He is,” Clarice agreed.

“Hey, Novella, aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Lucrezia said. “It _is_ work hours by now, isn’t it? I have no idea, time is meaningless to me right now.”

“Yes, it’s Saturday morning,” Novella said. “And normally I do work today, but I called and told them I was taking a personal day. I figured that covered the occasion of my husband’s boyfriend’s wife giving birth.”

They all laughed, but the conversation was soon interrupted by the arrival of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Giuliano, Bianca, Guglielmo, Carlo, and Sandro. “I should’ve known the whole harem would already be here before us,” Giuliano remarked.

Clarice was occupied being fussed over by Lorenzo’s mother and Carlo, but Lorenzo and Lucrezia Donati rolled their eyes in unison while Novella cackled and Francesco scowled at Giuliano and said, “First of all, that’s offensive, second of all, it’s not even accurate because—”

“No. Stop it,” Lorenzo said sternly. “No fighting, you two. Not today.” And Francesco and Giuliano both fell silent, which Lorenzo felt was solid proof of what a miracle Piero was.

Novella passed Piero over to his grandmother, and Lorenzo went to sit by Clarice’s bedside and join her in basking in the praise everyone was heaping on their son. Lorenzo was inclined to agree that he was indeed the most perfect newborn to have ever graced the earth.

Lorenzo gazed around the room, and he had to laugh a little as he thought about all these people in relation to Piero. His parents, his grandmother, his aunt and uncles, his great-uncle who was the same age as his dad, his parents’ girlfriend, his dad’s boyfriend, and his dad’s boyfriend’s wife. Not to mention that his parents’ girlfriend and dad’s boyfriend were also his godparents. There were many words to describe their family, but “conventional” definitely wasn’t one of them. And Lorenzo wouldn’t have it any other way.

“What are you laughing about?” Clarice asked.

“Nothing,” Lorenzo said. “Just thinking that if anyone ever tries to mess with Piero when he’s older, they’re going to have one hell of a family to deal with.”

**Author's Note:**

> Initially I was only planning to write quick Valentine’s Day fluff rather than an entire Birth Of A Child fic, but then I found out that Piero’s birthday deadass is February 15 so I was like okay..............that timing is too perfect to ignore


End file.
